


Fire/Normal

by Biscuit Lion (cookiethelion)



Series: 8 Out Of 10 Cats x Pokemon [1]
Category: 8 Out of 10 Cats RPF, British Comedy RPF, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Crossover, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-12
Updated: 2014-02-12
Packaged: 2018-01-12 02:42:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1180960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookiethelion/pseuds/Biscuit%20Lion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the 8 out of 10 Cats Pokemon special, featuring Josh, Miles, Joe, Matthew, and six Spindas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fire/Normal

**Author's Note:**

> ICYMI, there's now fanart of [Josh and Minccino](http://oxymoronish.tumblr.com/post/92227337848)! Thank you oxymoronish; I love her artwork, so I recommend giving her tumblr a visit.

Josh had long known what to expect from the Pokémon special of 8 out of 10 Cats; that he was going to need a full team of six Pokémon, a working Pokédex, and one gym or connoisseur badge or contest ribbon (in his case, the Balance Badge) to pin onto his shirt. When he got to the studio and discovered the set had been extended to include a battlefield between the panel and the audience, the floor manager explained they were going to include battles in between each round.

The only thing Josh couldn’t understand was why someone thought it a good idea for every panel member to have one Pokémon out of its Pokéball for the whole show; there _was_ a reason why every other panel show requested participants’ Pokémon to be kept in their Pokéballs at all times (not in the least because some Pokémon were known to behave aggressively if exposed to cameras and studio lights). Already, Jimmy’s Banette was creeping out the whole audience just by drifting in small circles, and Sean’s Bisharp had threatened to fight Joe’s Spinda (the one with all four spots on its cheeks) the moment the latter entered the studio. Now, Bisharp remained standing behind Sean, arms crossed, while Joe had switched out Spinda for the Spinda with the double spots on its left ear and right eye and cheek.

Miles was already in the studio when Josh walked in. No-one seemed surprised to see the latter's Minccino sitting on his shoulder; a Google Images search would throw up plenty of photos with her. He sat down on Jon’s side, in the seat furthest away from Jimmy’s.

“Is that a Minccino?” said Miles, leaning in and using Jon’s empty seat to prop himself up. His shiny Swellow fluttered onto the desk and stared at Minccino; under the lights, the former’s turquoise feathers glistened like sequins.

“Yeah, she is.” Josh picked up Minccino from his shoulder, and placed her down on Jon’s chair. She stared at Miles, and then ran up his arm to rest on his shoulder, almost knocking his Rain Badge askew with her tail.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person before.” Miles also picked up Minccino, and held her in front of him. “She’s adorable. Where did you catch her?”

“I think it was in Birmingham,” said Josh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Matthew walk in with Ditto in his arms. “It was a couple of years ago, I–”

He was interrupted again with a rather high pitched wave of “aaaah”s. He turned his seat, and saw that Jon had entered with a badge case in his hands. An infant-looking Growlithe who was an inch or two off the species’ average height was yapping and trailing him. Miles shifted his seat, so as to give Jon space to get in without tripping over his Pokémon.

Jon had only sat down for a few seconds, but already Josh was sure he had never seen him happier with any Pokémon than Growlithe. The nearest Josh had seen him smile was when he held Togetic, but even then, it was more of a half-smile. With Growlithe, it seemed as if Jon couldn’t stop grinning or stroking her body. Josh didn’t realise he was smiling along until he touched his lips.

“When did you get Growlithe?” said Josh, aware that he was still smiling. Miles put Minccino down, and she darted back across the desk to Josh, almost knocking over Jon’s case.

“About eight months ago,” said Jon. He must have been tickling her throat too much, because Growlithe sneezed, and sparks of fire shot out of her nose. Both Miles and Josh jumped back, and even Swellow seemed to chirp in alarm. Only Minccino walked near her, and Growlithe lowered her head, so that she was closer to the Normal type. “She’s been doing that for a while now. I think she’s close to learning Ember.”

“What moves does she know?” said Miles.

“Bite and Roar.” Jon loosened his hold on Growlithe, and she managed to slide onto the floor, and started sniffing Josh’s ankles. Minccino leapt onto his thigh, and tapped Growlithe’s head with her paw; the Fire type looked up, and grinned. Minccino smiled back, and climbed onto her head, where she curled up into a ball. Undeterred, Growlithe continued sniffing Josh.

“I think she likes you a lot,” said Jon, now looking at Josh. The latter looked up, straight into Jon’s smiling face, and for a moment just seemed to stare at him. When he became aware that it was getting a bit too long (and a bit weird), he glanced down again, and saw Minccino rubbing her nose into the crown of Growlithe’s head.

Opposite them, he heard a cluster of Pokéballs open, followed by Sean, Matthew and Joe yelling as they were being ambushed by four other Spindas, with the fifth – the original Spinda Joe wanted to let out – squaring up to Bisharp. From his lap, Minccino cried out, but he ignored her; it was amusing enough watching Joe scramble to his feet as the only Spinda (the one with three dots on the back of its head, and one over its left eye) attached to Matthew drew back its glowing, rainbow-coloured fist. Behind them, Jimmy’s Banette drifted in between Bisharp and Spinda, as Jimmy ran over from his desk, clutching another Pokéball. Then Josh felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see Jon pointing down.

Growlithe had moved on to sniff his thigh, but she was now winking at Minccino, who had leapt back onto Josh’s leg, and was also staring straight at Growlithe. At least, that was what Josh first thought, until he leaned in, and realised she was _winking back_. He could hear Joe screaming for one of his Spindas to use Sucker Punch, and the pop of another Pokéball opening, but none of that made him look away at what seemed like Growlithe and Minccino attempting to use Attract at each other, even though neither knew the move.

“Are they trying to use Attract?” said Miles.

Alarmed that Miles was paying attention to them, Josh and Jon picked up their Pokémon at the same time. Jon placed Growlithe back into his lap, but this time with his arm across her stomach so she couldn’t escape. Josh used one arm to press Minccino against his chest, and placed his other hand over her head, as if to stop her from being able to make eye contact. Growlithe and Minccino whined, but neither trainer listened to them, and they both swung their chairs so the backs were together.

“Do you know about the theory behind two trained Pokémon who fall in love with each other?” continued Miles.

“No,” said Jon.

“Apparently if two trained Pokémon fall in love, they reflect what their trainers feel about each other.”

Josh spun his seat round. “They’re not in love with each other. They winked. That’s all they did.”

Miles just grinned, and Josh realised he had acted too quickly. Jon was still not facing him. He shifted his hand so that his fingers were combing the tuft of fur in between Minccino’s ears. Why did Growlithe and Minccino _have_ to first meet in front of an audience? Then it occurred to him that, had this been somewhere more private (the nearby pub included), something might have happened by now. His fingers gripped the fur even tighter, and he only went back to touching her forehead when Minccino tail slapped him twice in the ribs, once on the left, and once on the right.

“Are you OK?” said Miles. Josh couldn’t answer, but nodded anyway. Jon turned around, and moved his arm back as if he was about to unclip a Pokéball, but stopped.

“Do you need Heal Bell?” he said.

“No … I’m fine …” said Josh, even though he was still doubling over and wincing from the pain in his ribs. Now that he knew what Tail Slap felt like, it was, at least, less painful than a combination of Fairy Wind and Close Combat.

“You haven’t broken anything, have you?”

Josh let go of Minccino, and pressed his fingertips over his ribs. He couldn’t feel any fractures or broken bones. The pain was probably coming from the impact of the slaps.

“I’m fine … _honestly_.” Josh knew from the look Jon was giving him that he didn’t trust him at all. Sighing, Josh pushed his chair closer, and Jon pressed his fingers against his ribcages to check he really hadn’t broken anything. Josh ended up stroking Minccino’s back with both hands, just to stop himself from doing anything as stupid as publicly grabbing Jon.

Miles caught his eye, and looked away just as quickly. Josh was probably pulling an Espurr-esque look, but as long as it meant he could keep his face emotionless, he didn’t care right now.

Josh was glad that Joe’s Spindas were still causing enough havoc to distract everyone. Matthew now lay slumped on the floor, clutching his head, his eyes unfocused, while the Spinda responsible for ambushing him fought Ditto-Skarmory. Behind them, Bisharp and Spinda still weren’t backing down, and Banette was joined by Absol, who kept turning its head to look at Bisharp, then Spinda, and back again. Meanwhile, Jimmy had been forced to help Joe catch two of the Spindas that had escaped into the audience, while Joe and the double-spotted Spinda tried to prise the final Spinda off Sean’s chest.

“You’re right,” said Jon, and he pushed his chair back.

“You two can thank me later,” said Miles.

Josh turned to see how the Spinda hunt was going. Joe had succeeded in freeing Sean, and now the latter was ordering Bisharp to use Metal Claw on the worn-out Spinda that Ditto-Skarmory was still battling. Jimmy was now marked by Swellow flying over his head several rows from the back, but judging by the shrieking, neither of the runaway Spindas had been caught yet.

A paw touched Josh’s thigh, and he glanced to his left again. Growlithe was staring at him, tongue out; the corners of her mouth seemed to have turned upwards in a smile. Even Minccino, who had since resorted to curling up in a ball again, was looking up at him.

Josh stroked Growlithe on the head, and she barked. He looked up at the same time as Jon, and for a moment thought he had the same soft eyes as Growlithe. Under the cover of the Spinda chaos, Jon winked at Josh; and Josh winked back.


End file.
